New Delhi: A day after the opposition raised slogans chanting “Manipur, Manipur” throughout his nearly two-hour long speech in the Lok Sabha, during his reply in the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (July 3) addressed the ongoing civil strife in the northeastern state while speaking in the Rajya Sabha.
The 14-month-long conflict in the state, which began on May 3 last year, has resulted in over 200 deaths and over 60,000 people being displaced and forced to live in relief camps. The divide between the Kukis and Meiteis has only widened over the past year.
Modi said that incidents of violence were “continuously reducing” and that his government was making “efforts” to normalise the situation in the state. He also reminded the Congress that it was under their government that President’s Rule had to be imposed 10 times in the 1990’s.
“In the previous session, I had spoken about Manipur in length. But today I want to reiterate again. To normalise the situation in Manipur, the government is continuously making efforts. More than 11,000 FIRs have been registered. Manipur is a small state. Over 500 people have been arrested. We have to accept that incidents of violence are continuously reducing in Manipur. This means hopes of peace are possible now. Today, in most of the areas of Manipur, schools, colleges, offices and other institutions are functional. Examinations were held in Manipur like in other parts of the country so the youth are progressing towards vikas. The central and state government is talking to all stakeholders to restore peace and are doing so in a peaceful manner. This has not happened in previous governments. The Union home minister stayed there for many days,” he said.
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While Union home minister Amit Shah had visited the state when the violence first broke out in May, he only went back to the state 11 months later, to campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Protesters thronged the streets of Imphal on the day of Shah’s visit, on April 15 this year, when he went to Manipur to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) four days before the Lok Sabha elections in the state. The BJP however lost to the Congress in both parliamentary seats in Manipur.
Modi, in his speech, said that both the political leadership as well as other government employees are present in the state to resolve all problems.
“Political leadership is there and all government employees go there physically and are available to resolve all problems. At this time there is also a flood situation in Manipur. The central government is extending all cooperation to Manipur to tackle the flood situation along with the state government. This means that even in the case of natural disasters, both the centre and the state are working together. Even today two teams of NDRF are in Manipur,” he said.
Modi, who was being asked to speak on Manipur in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, refused to do so despite the continuous chants from the opposition saying “Manipur, Manipur” and “Manipur ko nyay do”.
Last year, Modi addressed the violence in the state only after he was forced to do so, when a no-confidence motion was moved against his government in a bid to make him speak on the violence. He only mentioned Manipur once on the election trail, when he claimed that “timely intervention” by the Union government and the “efforts” of the BJP-led state government, resulted in a “marked improvement” in the situation in the state.
Despite this, Modi said on Wednesday to the Rajya Sabha that there is a need to “rise above politics.”
“We have to rise above politics and make efforts together to normalise the situation in Manipur. This is our duty. I warn those elements who are trying to add fuel to fire in Manipur. A time will come when they will be rejected by Manipur,” he said.
Accusing the opposition of trying to gain “political mileage” out of the strife in the state, Modi said that the Congress should remember that President’s rule was imposed 10 times during its tenure.
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“Those who know the history of Manipur, know that the civil strife has a long history and its roots are very deep. No one can deny that. The Congress should not forget that because of these reasons, President’s rule was imposed in Manipur 10 times. There must have been some trouble why President’s Rule had to be imposed ten times. This has not happened during our tenure. Yet, to gain political mileage, the kind of things that are taking place… I want to tell the country that in 1993, similar incidents took place in Manipur. It continued for five years. After understanding this history, we have to work to normalise the situation. We want everyone’s cooperation. But we are trying our best to normalise the situation,” he said.
The National Socialist Council of Nagaland [NSCN (Isak-Muivah)] had shot dead over 100 Kukis in 1993. The Kuki-Naga ethnic conflict in 1992-1993 arose from a claim and counterclaim on strips of community land, leading to hundreds of deaths, including those of women and children. Large tracts of land, claimed as ancestral land by the Kukis, are also claimed by the Nagas of Manipur and are a part of the greater Nagalim demand of the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) led by T. Muivah, a Tangkhul Naga from the state.
In the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the opposition chanted slogans demanding that Modi address the situation in Manipur after Alfred Kan-Ngam Arthur, the Outer Manipur MP from Congress was not allowed to speak despite requests from the opposition. While Modi was slated to speak in the Lok Sabha at around 4pm, the opposition requested Speaker Om Birla to give two minutes to the Manipur MP. Birla, however, refused to do so and said that the Congress had already been given enough time. The opposition MPs, including those from the northeast, then stormed the well of the House during Modi’s speech and raised slogans throughout the course of his speech.
Addressing reporters on Wednesday morning, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said that the opposition wanted the Manipur MP to be allowed to speak in front of the prime minister.
“Our demand was clear that we knew that PM Modi was to come and speak at 4pm. Our only demand was that two minutes be given to our Manipur MP to present his views and appeal for peace in Manipur. But, unfortunately, he was not given two minutes and we had to listen to the prime minister for two hours. In his speech, he made the same claims, the same jokes and the same low discourse. And the MP who was shouting to be heard, he [Modi] did not have the compassion to listen to him. This is why all the MPs from the northeast came to the well and asked for justice, to give justice to Manipur and to give a voice to Manipur. All INDIA MPs then joined us to ask for justice for Manipur,” he said.
The day before, on Monday night, the other MP from Manipur, Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, who represents Inner Manipur, was given time to speak close to midnight in a near empty Lok Sabha.
In his speech, he underlined the fact that while Manipur was absent from the President’s speech, he, as a representative of the people from that state, was getting a chance to speak only close to midnight.
“I can see the priority to the state and its people,” Akoijam said.